How do you guys jack up your cars? if that was your preference over ramps.
I ask because the 4 rectangular jack stand points on our cars are specific to BMW.
I've seen people use jacks on those rectangular jack points and get it damaged.
Are you supposed to jack up your car at the jack point between the front two wheels and then put jack stands on the rectangular jack points?
Are jack stands, with two edges if you know what I mean, safe to put under the rectangular jack points?
thanks!

Use the center jack point for the front, and the differential for the rear (obviously not at the same time). Cut a couple blocks of wood to fit in the plastic jack points on the side so that the plastic doesn't rest on the jack stands when the car is lowered on to the stands. They sell aluminum blocks that fit into the plastic jack points but I didn't like the idea of two pieces of metal sliding around. I later figured out that my cheap jack stands would fit perfectly within the plastic jack points when the T-bar is removed from the jack stands. You may need to roll the front wheels up on to a 2x8 to fit the floor jack under the car.

Use the center jack point for the front, and the differential for the rear (obviously not at the same time). Cut a couple blocks of wood to fit in the plastic jack points on the side so that the plastic doesn't rest on the jack stands when the car is lowered on to the stands. They sell aluminum blocks that fit into the plastic jack points but I didn't like the idea of two pieces of metal sliding around. I later figured out that my cheap jack stands would fit perfectly within the plastic jack points when the T-bar is removed from the jack stands. You may need to roll the front wheels up on to a 2x8 to fit the floor jack under the car.

So you put a wood adapter (that you made) on plastic jack points and put a jack stand underneath? How did you shape the wood to fit your jack stand? If you could take a pic, that would be greatly appreciated

But I don't have the tools to make a wooden adapter so I'll probably have to buy metal adapters and put a jack stand underneath which I am not sure how stable it will be

When I had my RFT fiasco a couple of months ago, I thought the tire shop would surely damage those plastic jack points under the car, but surprisingly they didn't: the floor jack they used had a large, flat pad, so they centered it on the plastic jack point. They lifted the car with no problem and didn't damage the jack point one bit.

That said, having some kind of adapter to fit the jack points would be a safer bet.

Since I had access to a milling machine, I made an adapter from a couple of pieces of aluminum to fit my floor jack:

Those stands are neat - I didn't realize anybody made ones like that. But before I spent $110 I would ask around for somebody to make me some blocks. Mine are just scraps of 3/4 baltic birch plywood cut to fit the openings. Anybody with a table saw could make a dozen of them in half an hour. You could make them with other tools but a table saw would do it very quickly.

My blocks from the stand are just two pieces. One is the same as the blocks that fit in the car jack points. The other is longer and narrower to match the top of the cheap HF jack stands I use. Pin nails and glue join the two pieces. Again, this is a trivial little project if you have a woodshop.

You need a buddy with some tools and a bribe to get him to do it. Not only is a wood solution much cheaper but the wood will not damage the plastic. If anything goes wrong the plywood scrap will be the thing to get damaged. I like that safety factor.

I also roll up on a 2X to fit an inexpensive jack onto the front jack point. I made tapered blocks of 2x4 that work fine. With the taper cut into the blocks I can push the car onto them by hand. The wood block doesn't have to be as wide as the tire, in other words.

A hockey puck is also something that could be cut to fit the pockets on the sides of the car.

If somebody wants to make some inserts and doesn't have access to woodworking tools, one tool you might want to consider is a vibrating saw. Fein's patents started expiring so there are lots of inexpensive saws. I have one by harbor Freight that was no more than $20, might have been as low as $10. It works fine. An advantage of a vibrating saw is it will not cut you. Your flesh will move so the cutting action won't work. You could jam the saw against yourself hard enough to do a little damage but the saw won't cut you if you are cutting a hockey puck to the correct size and touch your finger with it. These saws are also nice for cutting drywall and other miscellaneous tasks around the house. This is the one I use:

I use a rubber hockey puck in the "bowl" of my 2.5 ton floor jack. I lift from those plastic pads on the chassis. No damage so far.

Either a hockey puck (smart lol) on the jack or an adapter on plastic jack pads would work fine if you're just jacking up one of four plastic jack pads temporarily.

But how do you jack your car up for oil change? (something more than temporary and when you need to go under the car) like when you need to put jack stands on both side of the car.
(because when you use plastic jack pads to jack up the car, you can't put a jack stand there)

I think the best way is to jack up the jack point between the front wheels and put jack stands (preferably the ones that fit INSIDE the plastic jack pads) on two front plastic jack pads.
I've heard people say "Y" part of jack stand on edges of plastic jack pads are stable, but I want something a bit more stable, especially since the plastic jack pad could already be damaged

Thank you for the link!, that's really smart but super expensive!
I really don't want to trust "Y" part of jack stand supporting the edges of plastic jack pads so this might be the only option, unless I can get tools to shape it myself lol

It's a bit more hassle to get everything set up and situated but I like the fact that it lifts and supports the car by the approved lifting points. You can get a pretty decent amount of height if you unscrew the adjustable pads all the way.

I made up four plywood locating pieces which slot into the jack pads on the car.

I use a harbor freight jack, as does my son, but not the one illustrated. His buddy had one but it did not hold up. We use the all steel version. Heavier but holds up better in our experience. We used my sons to jack his deck into position recently. We were lifting most of the weight of a 16x16 deck with it.

I would not crawl under a car with a HF jack stand on the edges of the plastic pockets. You are going to damage the pockets at the minimum and they could break IMHO. If you don't have the tools to make plywood blocks and don't know anybody that does, and don't want to get a vibrating saw, how about buying a foot of 1x1 inch steel rectangular tubing. If you don't know anybody locally that sells it you can get it from McMaster Carr. Cut it with a hacksaw to a length that will fit into the lifting pocket and lift away.

I do not put the metal cup of my HF jack directly on the front or rear lifting point. I have a disk of plywood in there. That is a cosmetic thing, however. I don't think direct metal contact with the bimmer will hurt it but it could smear the plastic or paint a little.

Are there any locations safe to put traditional jack stands aside from the plastic jack points? I have an adapter for my jack, but clearly that won't be enough if I want to get 2-4 wheels off the ground on stands.

You might be able to put a jack stand on the center lifting points but I would not go under the car that way. You also might be able to find a suspension component or something to put the stand under but BMW doesn't recommend it.

In case I haven't made it clear already, I think it is worth the one time effort to put metal, hard rubber, or wood blocks into the plastic lifting pockets. I carry some in the shallow side of the tray under the trunk floor. The cost is low regardless of how you do it and I don't see another good alternative unless you want to spend $100 for 4 of the cast aluminum pieces. They seem like the best option but I didn't want to spend $100 on them. They would also be harder to carry in the car.